What Lives
in This Hole?
•N
K
•
H
What Lives
in This Hole?
Animal Burrows
I found a big hole in the ground
two months ago. I thought it might
be an animal’s burrow. I took a
picture with my phone to show
my teacher.
Table of Contents
Animal Burrows ............................... 4
Staying Cool ...................................... 6
Keeping Eggs Safe ............................ 7
Making a Nest................................... 8
Living in the Dark .......................... 10
Hiding and Laying Eggs ............... 12
Taking a Nap ................................... 14
More to Come ................................. 15
Glossary ........................................... 16
What Lives in This Hole? • Level K
Nevada
Dese
She helped me find out what lives
in the hole. Now I study the burrow
of a different animal every week.
Then I write about it on our class
blog. Check out what I’ve learned!
What Lives in This Hole? • Level K
New
Mexico
Some burrows are only a
little bigger than a desert
tortoise’s shell.
ge
e ran
My teacher and I work together.
rtois
rt to
PACIFIC
OCEAN
Do You Know?
Staying Cool
A desert tortoise lives in this hole!
This animal lives in a desert. It
digs a burrow to get away from
the heat. It spends most of its life
in the burrow.
CARIBBEAN SEA
Goliath
bird-eating
spider range
Wowser!
GREENLAND
The goliath bird-eating
spider is the biggest spider
in the world.
SOUTH AMERICA
NORTH
AMERICA
Atlantic
puffin range
EUROPE
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
Keeping Eggs Safe
A huge spider lives in this hole! It
lives in a deep burrow. A female
lays about fifty eggs in a little bag.
She takes the bag with her if she
leaves to hunt.
What Lives in This Hole? • Level K
Making a Nest
This hole belongs to puffins! These
birds spend most of their life at sea.
They use their strong wings and
webbed feet to fly and swim. Puffins
swim better than they fly.
Naked
mole rat
range
INDIAN
OCEAN
Wowser!
Atlantic puffins have
brightly colored bills at
certain times of the year.
Some people call these
birds “sea parrots” or
“clowns of the sea.”
Puffins use a burrow as a nest. They
dig the burrow on a high cliff. Both
parents care for the egg and then
the chick.
What Lives in This Hole? • Level K
Living in the Dark
Naked mole rats live in this hole!
They spend their whole lives in the
dark. They dig tunnels to find roots
to eat.
Wowser!
SEA OF
JAPAN
PACIFIC
OCEAN
Naked mole rats work together
to build tunnels. One animal digs
through soil at the front. Several
others sweep dirt toward the back.
An animal at the back kicks the dirt
out of the tunnel.
What Lives in This Hole? • Level K
Japanese giant salamanders
can grow as long as 1.5
meters (5 ft).
Hiding and Laying Eggs
A big salamander lives in this
underwater hole! It lives in rivers
and streams. It hides in a burrow
or under rocks during the day.
It comes out to hunt at night.
Wowser!
Wo
mb
at
ran
ge
A wombat’s burrow may be as
long as three school buses!
SOUTH
PACIFIC
OCEAN
Taking a Nap
In late summer, males and females
gather at burrows. A female lays up
to five hundred eggs there. A male
watches the eggs to make sure no
fish eat them.
What Lives in This Hole? • Level K
A wombat lives in this hole! This
animal digs a burrow with its huge
claws. It sleeps in its burrow during
the day. At night, it comes out to
find plants to eat.
Glossary
Do You Know?
Animals on every continent live in burrows. Burrowing
sea urchins live in Antarctica.
More to Come
I’m going to study more animals
that live in holes. Next, I will write
about rabbits, snakes, and ants. It’s
so fun to learn about animals!
What Lives in This Hole? • Level K
burrow (n.)
a hole dug in the
ground by an animal
for use as a home (p. 4)
naked mole
rats (n.)
burrowing, almost
hairless rodents that
are nearly blind and
live in Africa (p. 10)
puffins (n.)
any of three kinds of
diving seabirds known
for their brightly
colored beaks (p. 8)
salamander (n.) a kind of amphibian
that has smooth, wet
skin, a long tail, and
short legs (p. 12)
tunnels (n.)
underground passages
(p. 10)
wombat (n.)
a burrowing mammal
with a pouch and short
legs that looks similar
to a small bear (p. 14)